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Study of the thermal decomposition of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) in different atmospheres: effect of annealing on its structural and optical properties

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Abstract

The objectives of this study were twofold: firstly, to study the thermal decomposition of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) in the air or inert atmosphere, and secondly, to study the impact on the structural and optical properties of pure CZTS nanoparticles annealing in an air atmosphere at temperatures of 300 and, 400 °C. CZTS nanoparticles were synthesized at 200 °C through a hydrothermal-microwave technique. CZTS nanoparticles were characterized by TGA, XRD, Raman, SEM, HR-TEM, and UV–Vis techniques to analyze decomposition temperature, crystalline structure, vibrational transitions, morphology, d-spaces, and optical properties, respectively. The as-synthesized particles at 200 °C showed 6 nm size and were annealed at 300, 400, and 500 °C in an air atmosphere. TGA analysis shows CZTS nanoparticles remain stable inside the air atmosphere until 400 °C. However, this material is stable in the inert atmosphere until 600 °C. XRD pattern confirmed the decomposition of CZTS in an air atmosphere at 500 °C to Cu2S, SnO2, Zn(SO4), Cu(SO4), and Cu2(SO4)O. CZTS nanoparticles were stable up to 400 °C, showing a better optical property in the crystal size and structure. The band gap value of CZTS nanoparticles decreases with the heat treatment, which gives a better advantage to light absorption in the visible range for better optoelectronic applications.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to C. Leyva, Luis de la Torre, Pedro Piza, and Daniel Lardizabal for their technical assistance at CIMAV. Thanks to Italian Synchrotron Elettra for the provision of beam time, as well as the staff of the MCX beamline for their help during measurements as part of proposal No. 20180277.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados, S.C. (CIMAV), Av. Miguel de Cervantes #120, Complejo Industrial Chihuahua, 31136, Chihuahua, Chih, México

    Juan D. Cristóbal-García, Francisco Paraguay-Delgado, Luis E. Fuentes-Cobas & Juan C. Pantoja-Espinoza

  2. Cátedra CONAHCYT asignado al Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados, S.C. (CIMAV), Av. Miguel de Cervantes #120, Complejo Industrial Chihuahua, 31136, Chihuahua, Chih, México

    Guillermo M. Herrera-Pérez

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  1. Juan D. Cristóbal-García
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  3. Guillermo M. Herrera-Pérez
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation was performed by JDCG and FPD, data collection and analysis were performed by all the authors. FPD and JCPE wrote the first draft of the manuscript and all authors commented on previous versions. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Juan C. Pantoja-Espinoza.

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Cristóbal-García, J.D., Paraguay-Delgado, F., Herrera-Pérez, G.M. et al. Study of the thermal decomposition of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) in different atmospheres: effect of annealing on its structural and optical properties. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 34, 2013 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-023-11427-1

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